


"Thunderstorm" vol. 2

by comebackjessica



Series: Tumblr prompts [8]
Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: Alfie Is Theatric AF, Arthur Snorts Stuff, Doing Business In The Woods, Flirting over dead bodies, General Gangstering, John is a little shit, gangster shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 08:50:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19808878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/comebackjessica/pseuds/comebackjessica
Summary: Psssst, hey kids! Wanna see them gangsters flirting over a dead body in the middle of the woods? / request: 9. Thunderstorm.





	"Thunderstorm" vol. 2

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BakedAppleSauce](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BakedAppleSauce/gifts).



Why Alfie always  _ had to  _ be so fucking extra, Tommy had no idea.

And yet, there he was – waiting patiently for the man, in the middle of the woods, smoking cigarette after cigarette while John kept reloading his gun and Arthur looked like he was about to change his life and emigrate someplace sunny to preach the word of Christ.

“He’s fuckin’ late,” said Arthur, for what must have been the hundredth time, and sniffed so hard that he almost drew blood.

“Shouldn’t snort so much, Arthur,” Tommy said in that calm monotone of his that he knew drove his older brother insane.

“I will snort these pinecones if that makes this fuckin’ clown any less late, I swear to fuck!”

That, Tommy had to admit, was indeed unsettling. For two reasons, exactly: one, Alfie was always the one telling people they were late ( _ pedantic fucking fool _ ), and two, if he was late because he had decided to set Sabini’s men upon them (for the second time  _ this year! _ ), Tommy would make sure to haunt Alfie’s ass as a ghost till the end of fucking time.

“Alright, he’s here,” John said, spotting the headlights in the distance. 

“Fucking finally,” Arthur barked and reloaded both shotguns loudly.

“Remember boys, we’re in business together, we don’t have to like each other but don’t. Fuckin’. Shoot him. Yes?” Tommy dropped the cigarette butt and lit another one immediately. 

“Relax. I will shoot, though, if he says  _ shalom _ to me one more fuckin’ time.”

“Yeah, nobody fuckin’ likes him ‘cept you, Tom.”

“Bullshit.” Tommy glared at both his brothers.

“Facts,” said John, trying to make out any shapes in the dark. The fact of the matter was, it was hard to see anything, since not only had Alfie chosen this particular dark road in the woods for their meeting spot, but it was also about to rain. Thick, dark clouds spread across the midnight sky in a matter of minutes and the first thunder roared in the distance as Alfie and his men finally got out of the car.

“Alfie,” Tommy said. “How nice of you to finally join us.”

“Meanin’ what, exactly?” Alfie let his men march towards the brothers, while he took his sweet time with the cane theatrics. 

“We’ve been waiting for some time,” Tommy said calmly. “What’s the setback, Alfie?”

“Got lost, did you?” John’s shit-eating grin was clear as day, even in the middle of the dark forest.

Meanwhile, Arthur just stood there saying nothing, shotguns ready, glaring at Alfie with murderous intent.

“Very fuckin’ funny. Yer funny!” Alfie pointed a finger at John. “And yet… yer the one who always stinks of the stables, but you don’t see me standin’ here and askin’ you rude fuckin’ questions, do ya?”

“That’s Tom,” John said. “He’s the horse-charming gypsy one, I’m the one who steals yer lady.”

Having realized that Alfie was seconds away from relieving his brother of his teeth, Tommy stepped between the two and shook Alfie’s hand forcibly. 

“Let’s get to business, eh?”

Alfie looked at him in that frantic way of his; his eyes wild and wide open, meaning he could calm down or strike at any moment. 

“Yeah, why not, mate?” Luckily for Tommy, Alfie started blinking again and everybody exhaled. “We should, eh? Mainly ‘cause I asked you here to talk about our rat issue, mate.” Alfie waved at his men.

They dragged a man from the car and threw him right at Tommy’s feet. The man, looking beaten up within an inch of his life, whined upon seeing Alfie and started pleading through his gag.

“Now, for the rats, right, Tommy… Especially the boot-lickin’ kind, right, my all-time favorite would be arsenic. But that’s slow, wouldn’t you agree?” Alfie furrowed his brow and looked down at the bound man as if not really seeing a person but an actual vermin.

Tommy smoked his cigarette in silence. He knew better than to interrupt Alfie’s insane monologues. Fortunately, his brothers kept their distance, too.

“Now,” Alfie took out his gun and pointed it at the bound man, pretending not to notice that John and Arthur readied theirs –  _ just in case _ . “Shootin’ them takes practice and me eyes are not the best, yeah, but I think it’s faster, innit?”

The loud bang echoed in the dark at the same time that another thunder did. Nobody said anything for a good minute, not really sure how to react to Alfie’s obviously fucked up ways of showing his engagement in the business they shared. Finally, Tommy blinked very slowly and wiped the residue blood and tissue from his cheek. He lit another cigarette and inhaled deeply.

“So you called me here… to come to the woods, in the middle of a fucking thunderstorm... to shoot a man.”

“Aye… no.” Alfie sighed in disappointment. “Sharing my rat concerns, more like.”

“There’s more?”

“Where there’s one, there’s usually more, Thomas, try to keep up, sweetie. And I know where they all go to sleep at night, mate.”

“Where?” Tommy asked nonchalantly, trying to ignore the pet names.

“Why, at your good friend’s, Tommy, as it happens. The inspector… eh.” Alfie snapped his fingers in the air. “The mustache one.” He turned around for a clue from his men while Tommy allowed himself a soft chuckle. Another thunder rumbled even closer to the clearing than the first one and he felt the first drops of rain on his face.

“Well... Always nice to know you care, Alfie.” Tommy shook Alfie’s hand first. “We’ll be on our way, then.”

“Yeah, you do that.” Alfie covered Tommy’s hand with his in a rather possessive manner. He looked at Tommy in that mad way of his that he knew didn’t bother Tommy in the slightest, but Alfie still did that every time he got the chance hoping he might finally get the Birmingham boy to crack. “You drive safe now, yeah?”

As per usual, Tommy couldn’t really tell if Alfie meant it as a friendship statement or a threat.

  
  



End file.
